A good crowd showed up to hear Mayor Denny Doyle give us an update on the City of Beaverton. He had a lot to say about building development around downtown and the old Westgate property. It all sounds very ambitious. We appreciated his taking the time out to meet with us.

It was Capt. Eric Oathes’ birthday so he paid big bucks for us to sing to him. He seemed rather pleased based on the smile on his face. We won’t give his age away but here’s a hint: _8.

Dusty showed off his latest Intarsia creation: a Beaverton Police Badge that one of the officers requested. As usual, he did a wonderful job. See photos below. You can see more of Dusty’s work here.

Next week our speaker is Commander Bob Day from the Portland Police Bureau. Hope you can make it.

After Bob Primrose led the pledge to the American Flag, Dusty said “This day in history…1986. Think basketball.”

The President mentioned the updated website and calendar was complete for now but still open to any suggested improvements.

Calendar notes:

Next Thursday Karen Bolin will be here to represent our Business of the Month, Edward Jones Financial. We will also swear in Karen, and possibly Roger Whitaker, as new members. Karen will share with us and answer any questions about financial investment.

Next Thursday, the 9th, is the Aloha Business Association Luncheon at the Peppermill, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM. The club is a member so any of our members are encouraged to attend.

Next Thursday will be a busy day because it is also our board meeting at 6:30 PM at the PAL club.

April 20th, 7:00 PM is the Troop 870 Court of Honor at Mountain View Middle school. We hope a number of our members can attend. A dessert potluck will follow.

Barry announced that Madeleine Smith, our local essay winner, was chosen as our District Essay Contest Winner! She receives a $2500 scholarship and will compete in the international competition. A press release will be going out to announce this.

Bob Arneson presented us a check for $600 from Troop 870 for our part in their Christmas tree drive. He said a majority of the funds raised will assist scouts to attend summer camp.

John Koch said the Sheriff’s Office is working with the school district to provide Safer Routes for Kids to get to school. These routes will be made and maintained by the “guests” in the orange jumpsuits from the jail. He also said they will be sponsoring a Scout Day at the Jail with more details to follow.

Dusty won the raffle today. It’s only fitting since he has an Easter birthday Sunday. He paid up and was awed by the singing of the club!

This day in history…the NBA instituted the three point shot.

Bob P. said he heard there was someone in the club who got a new vehicle. After some prodding Marv Thompson unwillingly confessed and paid a $5.00 fine. We thanked Bob for the news report!

Since Wally had a recent surgery, he read some actual notes from hospital medical charts. Apparently Jack didn’t care much for them or maybe had to use the boys’ room, so he said “Let’s stand,” to make a preemptive close to the meeting. So he was asked to close with the creed.

Some people wondered if we were having a meeting because Jack wasn’t there. One of them asked, “Is Jack sick?” Actually, his son from Arizona is in town this week so he is spending time with his family.

Susan, on the other hand, is down with a cold. We miss you Susan and hope you get well soon.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Next week the Hillsboro club is coming with their raiding party. Wally won’t be here because he’s having an outpatient surgery so Jack is taking the reins. Let’s have a good turnout so we can resist the invaders! Honestly, it’s always nice to see our fellow Optimists from other clubs.

Other items to note:

April 2nd is our Essay Contest winners’ breakfast. This would be another time for a great turnout. Our thanks to Barry and the judges who helped.

The board meeting is Tuesday, April 2nd, 6:30 at Beaverton PAL. ALL members are welcome to come to a board meeting.

Author Andra Watkins will be speaking at our April 16th Learn more about her at www.andrawatkins.com

This week’s raffle winner was Dick Schouten. Yes, he’s the one who drew the winning number and he claims it wasn’t a set up! Dick also shared about his recent trip to DC to attend a conference of the American Bicycling Association. They discussed a number of topics including bicycle safety. He will probably be hooking up with Bruce to share what he learned. He also got to visit with his daughters in New York.

Wally had us look through our updated webpage. The group had some good ideas to add. Keep checking back to see the changes: www.beavertonoptimists.org.

The president opened the meeting late. Our speakers had some technical difficulties that required attention, especially from Eric Squires. Thanks Eric.

We had a good turnout this morning. All of the seats were taken! Dave G. was here for the second time in a row! (Or was it the third?).

This Day in History, provided by Dusty, was the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.

Bob Primrose announced that the Optimist shirts and vest have been ordered and should be here in a couple of weeks.

Bruce shared some things about PAL and NWBSC. They still use the guidebook from the Optimists in their program. Also, he and Wally will be working on an article that will be sent to Optimist International with the hopes it will be printed.

The scouts are trying to establish a co-ed Venture Crew made up of older scouts. They need a charter sponsor and asked if we would be willing.

Last week’s raffle winner was Roger who willingly took the dough and ran with it. This week’s winner was someone all of us look up to…literally…Dick Schouten. The “Comish”will have to return next week to claim his winnings. He probably will. Most politicians don’t miss such an opportunity! J

Dates to remember:

Next Monday, February 9th, 7:00 PM is a retirement party for Scoutmaster Bryan Reynolds from troop 870. This will be held at Mt. View Middle School. Let’s get some of Optimists there to show our thanks for Bryan’s service.

Our speakers today were Brian Blachly and David O’Conner from the Cascade Pacific Council of the Boy Scouts. They had lots of things to share, especially how we can better partner with our troop and council. Learn more at their website: www.cpcbsa.org

Susan was not at the breakfast today so you will have to put up with my chicken scratches.

Karen came in late but was forgiven because she brought gifts…2015 calendars.

Remember…no meetings the next two Thursdays. Enjoy the holidays.

Commander John Koch is looking for some volunteer help with active shooter training. Don’t worry, they won’t shoot you! The dates are December 22-23 and 29-30. Let John know. John also tells us the Sheriff’s Office may be featured in an upcoming 20/20 TV program. He will keep us informed.

January 6th, 8 AM we will be working on wood at the Jenkins Estate. Please contact Bob or Roger if you would like to help.

January 7th is the Aloha Business Association luncheon. The topic will be the new park going in behind Mountain View School. It starts at 11:30 AM.

January 15th is our Community Coffee at the Edward’s Center, 6:30 – 8:00 PM. Watch for further information.

TONIGHT is the concert, “Holy Night” at the Alpenrose Dairyville Opera House. The Westside Singers will perform some new Christmas music (Linda, Wally’s wife, sings in this jazz choir). The cost is $10 per adult and $5 for kids. Proceeds go to help fight childhood sex trafficking.

The club is working with the park district and the Schouten family to plant a tree and plaque in honor of Dick’s wife, Karen, at the Roy Dancer Park. It will likely take place in the spring of 2015. Stay tuned.

We had a great time at the Aloha Community Library on the evening of 9/11. We had around 15 with some of our members and others from the community. President Wally asked for folks to share a memorable volunteer experience. We found out we have a wealth of volunteers in our community. Aaron Esparza, from Genesis Mediation, won the door prize…a copy of Wally’s book: Sent to Serve…The Chaplains of 9/11. Stay tuned for our next Community Coffee.

Here is the newsletter from this morning’s breakfast-auction. Thanks to all who participated:

Beaverton Optimist Club Breakfast Newsletter May 29, 2014
Tomorrow at 11:30 at the THPRD Service Center off of Allen, please join for Dave Chrisman’s retirement party from THPRD.
Board Meeting this coming Wednesday, June 4, 2014 6:30pm at the PAL Club.
Next week’s speaker will be an 8th grader who has hemophilia. She contacted Wally to see if she could come to speak to us as part of a school project. She has hemophilia and wants to talk to us about the Hemophilia Foundation.
Marv D. thanked everyone for coming out for the Memorial Day Event this past Monday. He said there was roughly 1,500 people in attendance. He thanked Wally for the chaplaincy.
On June 12th our Dean Mitchell Scholarship winner will be with us and last year’s Dean Mitchell Scholarship winner will be there as well, Ashley Eddy.
There is a re-dedication of Roy Dancer Park this coming Saturday, May 31, 2014 from 1-3pm. For the new members, Roy Dancer was a member of the Beaverton Optimist Club for a long time; he sadly passed away several years ago. I got the privilege of meeting Roy when I joined the club in 2006.
Eric S. passed around photos he took at the Memorial Day Celebration on Monday. Thank you Eric!
If you have some spare time on Saturday Doug Hoy and the Aloha Library will be moving the book shelves from the blockbuster location to across the street at a storage unit behind the school. Wally, Alan and Eric S. all plan to be there. If you are interested in helping show up at 9am. Thanks to those that can help.
Sorry Alan I missed this day in history, my breakfast showed up and I forgot to pay attention.
This week’s raffle winner was Scott.
On a sad note Marv T. shared that Scott lost a very good friend of his last week. She developed a blood clot that traveled to her lung and she passed away, leaving behind a young daughter and a husband. Marv said that it’s a tight group of friends and that they have all come together to help each other out in dealing with such a tragic loss. The gal was only in her mid-30’s. We are sorry Scott for your loss.
Last week’s raffle winner was Jack he donated his winnings to Dean Mitchell.
Our Auction today netted $ 100, and funds from donations in the club brought the total that will be donated to the OI Foundation to $ 131.
See you all next week.
Susan Nordstrom

The weather was threatening but that didn’t keep away a fine group of Optimists from cleaning up Murray Blvd. this morning. We were joined by two of our newest members, Rich and Dave. Dave even convinced his son to come and help! As it turned out, it didn’t rain at all and we were done in no time, although Alan seemed to lose a few of our members along the way. He eventually found them after they hid under the bridge!

Thanks to all who came to help. For those who were SUPPOSED to help, you missed some fine donuts, coffee, hot chocolate, and fellowship. (Scroll down for more photos.)

We had a great showing by the American Legion Post 124. In attendance were Bob Gelhar, Financial Officer; Bernie Meuwissen,1st Vice Commander; Louis Haga, Boys State; and Commander Marv Doty.

Louis shared about the Legion’s participation in Boys State, where high schoolers attend to run for political office for a week at the “Boys State.” They learn a lot about government in the process. Our own Dick Schouten, Washington County Commissioner, has served as a judge in the past.

At the conclusion, President Wally Johnston presented a check to the post to help sponsor young people who attend Boys State.